


A Conquering Virtue

by QuietDarkness



Series: Simplicity and Complexity (Harrisco) [39]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, harrisco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 06:28:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13698771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietDarkness/pseuds/QuietDarkness
Summary: Maggie thinks she has it all figured out, but Harry knows better, and an unexpected discovery helps prove him right.Meanwhile, danger isn't taking a break. And Maggie gets a lesson in what it means to not only be a hero in training, but just plain human as well...'Opposites don't just attract. They catch fire and burn the entire city down.'(Part 39)





	A Conquering Virtue

Maggie couldn't stop pacing. 

She could feel Cisco's eyes on her from where he was standing next to Harry, arms crossed over his chest, the sleepiness completely faded from his dark eyes. “Look, I agree this is... definitely creepy.” He glanced back at the pictures in Harry's hands, the taller man flipping through them after they'd gathered them from the floor. “But it could be anyone. It may not even be meant for you. Maybe they're meant for me?” He shrugged, letting one arm fall as his opposite hand dragged through his sleep tussled hair. “We've got our own fair share of enemies.”

She stopped moving and narrowed her eyes at him. How could he be so calm about this? She knew he was just trying to help, maybe take some of the stress or blame off of her. But she knew -KNEW- it had to be Pete. Harry set the pictures behind him on the counter, one hand moving to rest momentarily on Cisco's shoulder as he stepped past toward her. “Look,” He watched her face, and she could tell he knew exactly what was going through her head. Sometimes, she really hated that about him. “There's no point in jumping to conclusions right now. A stack of photos with a sticky note isn't exactly a calling card.” 

“I know that. But everything in my gut is telling me that it's him. He might not have taken the pictures, but he's got people who do things for him. He's got resources. And... don't you think it's strange that we haven't seen or heard from him since he shot you?” She asked, words trailing together in a fervor as she motioned to his shoulder, the memory still quite vivid in her head. “And what about the break-in here? We still don't know who did that. It's all just too much to brush aside. I knew he'd come crawling out of the woodwork eventually.” She frowned a little, eyes glancing to Cisco. “I guess... I hoped maybe...” She cleared her throat, “Maybe he'd fallen off the face of the planet, or something.”

“I get it.” Cisco said, nudging Harry. “We get it. It makes sense.” Harry spared him a glance.

“And yet, we have no proof.” Harry reached forward with one hand and fixed the collar of her purple and black plaid shirt as he looked back at her. “Until we have proof, I want you to go to classes-”

“No way! Are you nuts?!” She practically shouted, cutting him off and moving into him as though the mere idea of being separated from either of them was physically painful. But then she cleared her throat a little when Harry raised a brow at her. “I'm not going anywhere but with the two of you.”

“Harry,” Cisco's voice broke in as he turned his body, standing beside both of them. “Why don't we call her out for the day. Take her with us to S.T.A.R. Labs, till we figure out whether this is something or nothing.” He winked at her and she fought the urge to lunge at him and hug him for his downright perfectly understanding nature. Harry glanced at him, then back at her with brows slowly furrowing. “Think of it as 'bring your kid to work day.'” Cisco flourished his hands and grinned. And she had to smile at that, looking up at Harry's stern features and brightly lit eyes as she mouthed the word, 'please', over and over. Finally, he sighed. Then nodded.

“Alright. But you'd better not get behind.”

“I won't!” She exclaimed, grinning with relief.

“On anything.” He raised a finger at her.

“Scout's honor!” She hugged him then, as tight as she could. And he simply wrapped his arms around her, something that was steadily becoming one of her favorite, most familiar things. She could see Cisco grinning, then he clapped his hands together.

“Sweet, I'm driving!” He turned on his socked heels, heading for the front door.

“Uh... Ramon?” Harry's amused voice caught Cisco's attention, along with Maggie's instantly uncontrollable giggle as Ramon grabbed the keys and turned, raising a brow.

“What?” He asked, pausing with his hand halfway reaching for his jacket. 

“Shouldn't we, I don't know... get dressed first?” Harry asked, one arm motioning between them as he let Maggie go. She continued to giggle, feeling so much less like hell was raining down on her as Cisco flushed and looked down at his pajama pants and t-shirt.

“Oooh, right. Yikes.” He set the keys slowly down on the counter as though they were about to explode if he moved them too quickly. Harry chuckled. “This is what I get for being startled out of sleep and not having coffee.” He grimaced. 

“Come on, you nut.” Harry just shook his head with a smile and headed for the bedroom. Cisco frowned. 

“You're the nut.” He mumbled, wandering after him. Maggie just watched them both disappear behind the closed door and felt the quiet settle in their wake. And for a moment, everything felt normal. Just her, her dads, and an apartment decorated to the hilt for Christmas. 

Maggie turned slowly, taking it all in, letting her eyes dance over the lights and decorations, the ridiculously large stockings that Cisco had picked out for them all, the tree that was somehow far too big and yet managed to look perfect anyway, the few presents that had already been placed beneath it. Eureka was asleep beside one of them, hidden half under the branches in attempt to escape the mayhem. She looked adorable, as though she fancied herself a present, too.

Outside, the large bay windows gave view to a delicately orange and red hued morning sky, awash against it by the winter whites and grays that covered the buildings and light posts of the city. A small flock of pigeons were huddled together on a wire across the street, fluffed up and braced against what little wind there was. The winter's light looked different than she ever remembered. Less harsh, less torturous, far more forgiving.

Winter life on the streets was dirty, wet, cold, without any chance to enjoy the splendor of lights and trees and snow covered mornings. It was an unforgiving, terrible string of days that made Christmas seem like a rich man's right and a poor girl's fairytale. But the streets had been a better alternative than foster homes and placement, where adults took advantage in the worst way or treated children like movable waste. The system was broken, it failed kids like her. And she ran to escape one hell, only finding herself in one that was only slightly less terrifying. A hell with a devil named Pete. It was a sad reality, it was her reality. Had been. Till now. Till Harry and Cisco.

“We won't let anything happen to you.” Harry's voice broke through her thoughts and caused her to jump, turning around quickly to see both of them standing there looking at her. She'd never even heard them come out of their room. Harry was dressed in his typical black attire. Cisco had on jeans and a brightly colored blue and green t-shirt that read, 'I'll work when the coffee does.' 

Cisco moved toward her, then, and hugged her, and she felt every muscle simply relax in his hold. She hadn't even realized she'd been so tense. 

“What about you guys?” She mumbled into him, burying her face into his shoulder for a moment. His hair smelled like coconut. And she could even smell the lingering scent of Harry's Old Spice on Ramon's skin. She felt Harry's hand on her back, warm and large. 

“We give as good as we get.” Cisco responded. “Don't worry about us.”

“I kind of have to.” She lifted her head, pulling away to see both of them. “You're... all I have.” She felt the trimming of unshed tears in her eyes. “You don't know...” She whispered the last. 

“Hey,” Harry caught her attention, reaching forward and hooking a finger under her chin. “I'll make you a promise.” He let his hand fall. “We're all in this together, whatever this turns out to be. As a family, and a team. And if this does turn out to be Pete?” He gave her a wry smile, “Then we'll kick his ass together, too.” She chuckled at that. 

“Wow, I almost can't believe you just said that.” She responded.

“Yes you can. Now go get your stuff.” He motioned with a thumb over his shoulder. And she gave a mock salute. Five minutes later, they were in Cisco's car. The radio was on, some old rendition of 'Rocking Around the Christmas Tree' on low, Cisco's hand entangled with Harry's as he drove on the slushy winter roads. The two men bickered calmly over Cisco's ability to drive in the snow. And she watched them from the back seat, thinking, glancing out the windows every now and then, warily looking for any sign that Pete was out there, popping in and out of view and watching them.

Paranoia was beginning to seed itself inside of her. And by the time they got to the mostly unplowed parking lot of S.T.A.R. Labs, she was nearly white-knuckling her back pack. But she put on her 'I'm Okay' face, and followed her Dads inside. Because she had to be okay, she decided. She needed to be. 

Because Pete had written, _'He's not safe now.'_

And yeah, Harry was a badass. And meta abilities couldn't hurt him. But he was still human. Still just a guy. Caitlin had said, damage to the head or heart and... She swallowed that thought down. And what if Pete decided to go after Cisco, too? Sure, he was right. They could look out for themselves. And Cisco's abilities weren't anything to trifle with, either. But not even he could stop a bullet. So yeah, they could hold their own. Okay...

But that didn't mean she couldn't look out for them, too. Keep them safe. Protect them. Because that's what this family does. This team. She'd learned as much. 

And as they trudged their way inside, the snow mildly falling around them once more, she made herself a promise. 

Pete could do his worst... but Maggie King wasn't weak or scared anymore. She was a powerful meta, and she knew it. He wasn't taking what was hers. And she'd do whatever it took to protect the people she loved...

* * *

Harry couldn't take his eyes off of the doorway as the group talked about the pictures.

Ever since Maggie had gotten out of the car, there'd been something about her expression... a steelness in her eyes, something familiar and far too worrisome. Something he'd seen more than a few times in his own reflection in the past. She was far too young for a look like that... or what came with a look like that.

When she'd excused herself to blow off steam in her practice room, a special section of the labs they'd rigged up to handle the at times destructive nature of her powers while she learned to control them, he'd followed her with his eyes... and hadn't taken his gaze away from the now empty doorway since.

“Since the first time we put him under the radar, there haven't been any sightings. Not even a blip on a convenience store camera.” Joe said as he flipped through the pictures, “What makes her so sure these are from him? Life on the streets is hard, even for metas. She's proof of that. He could be dead now, for all we know.”

“Gut feeling?” Cisco replied, chewing on the stirring straw from his cup of cappuccino. “She's convinced it's him. You didn't see her, she was full on panic mode.” He let the straw escape the grasp of his mouth, reaching forward and setting the cup down on the counter next to a keyboard before resting his elbows lazily on his knees, hands hanging. “Honestly, I'm gonna go wi-” He paused when a loud bang was heard and the lights flickered, making everyone look up. “.... with her gut.” Cisco finished, frowning a little and furrowing his brows.

“She keeps that up, she's going to bring the building down.” Barry muttered, reaching out and settling a slightly shaking monitor that hung from the ceiling. 

“She's not that strong...” Caitlin said, getting up from her rolling chair and adjusting her watch, though pausing a few steps away. “Is she?”

“Possibly.” Harry responded, but he wasn't looking at any of them. His arms were still crossed over his chest. He could feel eyes on him, but he didn't bother to look back. 

“Okay,” Joe sighed a little, setting the pictures down on the table, “I'll go back over our files, bring in some of his known associates, see if we can't get a lead on him.”

“I'll get in touch with Wally, we'll do a sweep of the city. Any place Maggie frequents. Maybe we'll get lucky.” Barry offered with a shrug. 

“I'll see if I can come up with something to keep him from teleporting in and out. Do you still have DNA samples from that necklace?” Cisco asked Caitlin, standing up and stretching his arms behind him a little. Maggie had given them a necklace that Pete used to wear habitually. She'd stolen it from him, after he'd been arrested, before they'd met her. 

“Yeah, I'll help you.” She said, offering her signature sweet smile. And suddenly everyone had a job to do except for Harry, who was still just standing there feeling strangely useless.

What he wanted to do was hit something. Or someone. 

He was good at that. He could do that. He could make that work.

He could also potentially help Cisco and Caitlin. Rigging up things that stopped the metas of the week was right in his wheel house. 

But he couldn't get the look on Maggie's face out of his head. And when another bang was heard and the building shook again, it made him clench his jaw tight and drop his arms, nostrils flaring. “You should talk to her.”

It was Joe, standing beside him with his hands in his pockets. He hadn't left yet. Harry glanced at him, slightly startled by his presence. He hadn't realized the Detective was standing there till he'd spoken. 

“And say what? We don't know it's Pete. We're running off assumptions.” He turned his hard gaze back to the hallway. “If it turns out that it's not him, it will have been a waste of time we could have used to figure out who it really is. She needs to learn not to fly off the handle like this. And that threats are just part of this whole,” he motioned over his shoulder absently, “Heroic thing you've all got going on.” Joe gave a small chuckle, making Harry raise a brow. “What?” He asked flatly, hand falling back down, glancing back at him again.

“You still think you're not a hero?” Joe asked, reaching up and gripping Harry's shoulder for a moment. “You may not wear a suit like the rest of them, or carry a badge like I do, but you're just as much a hero, Harrison Wells.” He dropped his hand halfway, then pointed at Harry with a stern look. “Don't ever tell Cisco I said that out loud.” He let his hand fall the rest of the way.

Harry gave a wry half smile. “I appreciate that, but I think I'm very far off the heroic mark.” Yeah, he helped. He added his input, rigged up gear and tech, offered his skills with weapons, protected what was his... but hero? He was for sure a better man than he was when he'd first come to this ragtag team. But he was certainly no hero.

“I think everyone here would gladly debate that... I remember reading this quote somewhere...” Joe searched Harry's face with that noticeably discerning look he often gave when he was trying to get his point across, steadily. “A hero is someone who knows how to hang on,” he lifted a single finger, “Just one minute longer.” Then he pointed at Harry with that finger. “When you have every reason to stop fighting, you hold on. Whether it's for this team, or any one of us individually... you hold on. When every possible odd is against you, when you've been beaten and broken... man, I have never seen anyone hold on as long as you can and have.”

“Holding on...” Harry shook his head, then reached up, pulling his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose before sighing heavily and letting his hand fall, “Isn't the same as what Barry or Cisco, or even you do. It doesn't save lives. It just... is.”

Joe smiled. “You're wrong about that. Because you don't hold on for yourself... you hold on for everyone else. You... inspire people.” He motioned idly at Harry, as though it was a completely real and simple truth that was somehow widely accepted. “When any one of us look at you, we can say... we didn't give up, because of you. Because you taught us how to hold on,” he began to move past him then, “Just one minute longer.” He patted Harry once on the shoulder before moving toward the hallway. “Go talk to Maggie. Some lessons these kids can't learn on their own.” His voice trailed off as he disappeared around the corner.

Damn.

He really, really hated it when Joe West was the voice of reason.

* * *

It was so easy, letting the energy surge from her body, building it up to intense levels and pushing it out in waves. Sure, it wasn't exactly graceful or controlled like they'd taught her, but it felt good. It was a hell of a stress reliever. And it blew off way more steam than controlled bursts. It also showed her just how destructive she could be. Which was good. It made her think... area of effect... with the way Pete could pop in and out, maybe she could expand her powers far enough to fry him in the act? Yeah, it would probably kill him. And that should have sobered her up, stopped her from even working on this. But she couldn't get the idea out of her head... she had to stop Pete, no matter what...

Problem was, these massive electric waves would have fried anyone who was foolish enough to walk in on her while she was 'practicing.' And no one here was that stupid. Which was why she let out a screech when she saw someone standing a short distance to the side of her, just as she let off the latest burst.

“Dammit, Dad!” She clutched at her chest, heaving a breath. It was just Harry. Him, she couldn't hurt. Thank goodness. She felt her heart flying around like a wild animal in a cage, and had to force the momentary panic to subside. “Don't scare me like that!” She frowned deeply at him. Like the smug jerk he could be, he just stood there with his hands in his pockets, smiling lightly at her.

“Have to keep you on your toes somehow.” He responded, then looked around the mostly empty room. Metal and plastic barrels and drums she'd used for 'target practice' were singed and toppled. “What are you doing?” He asked, turning his eyes back to her, his voice quietly accusing. And she dropped her hands.

“Um...” She cleared her throat a little. “Just...” She looked around, then shrugged. “Ya know.”

Harry nodded, moving toward her then. “I do know.” He stopped just beside her. “I know that all this,” he motioned around them slightly, “Is more than just blowing off steam.” She met his eyes as he spoke and felt everything go still in her head. 

“I'm just practicing. Being prepared.” She replied almost flatly.

“For what, exactly?” He crossed his arms over his chest then, narrowing his gaze on her. “A mass electrocution?” She frowned then and turned away.

“You don't understand.” She crossed her own arms, pacing toward an overturned, nearly crushed barrel, nudging it with her foot as though it was to blame for... well, something. How could he understand? He didn't know what it was like, to finally have a life worth fighting for, just to have it all threatened. 

“That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say.” He said blandly. And she couldn't help it, she had to turn to look at him. “That I don't understand.” He let his arms fall. His face was hard, stern even. Not angry, not exactly. But something else. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. He motioned to the doorway. “Come with me.” He turned his back to her and headed toward the hall. And for a long, probably too hesitant moment, she didn't follow. Till she heard his voice echoing down the hall. “MOVE.”

She didn't need to be told again.

The walk was quiet, tense. She could see the hard lines of his shoulders, tight and focused. And she knew she was either in a lot of trouble, or about to get a hard lesson. Neither of which she was looking forward to, especially when she realized where they were headed. 

The pipeline.

She found herself freezing just before the large doorway that lead to the first hall, eyes going a little wide. When she'd first come to them, when her life was hell and she was all angst and struggle, Harry had warned her that he'd throw her in the pipeline if she ever hurt anyone...

“Hey,” he snapped his fingers from several feet ahead of her, “Keep moving.” He said, then motioned her forward. She had to will her feet to move. It was so much harder than it should have been. But she got herself going, because Harry wouldn't do that to her, right? Not now, not after everything...

He waited till she got slightly ahead of him before he moved again. Then they walked side by side and he quietly guided her through to a particular cell, retrofitted by Cisco ages ago to hold metas. It was empty now. Clean and well lit and just waiting for a new prisoner...

“Turtle.” Harry said from just behind her, making her cringe a little, but then she blinked at the empty cell before her and looked back at him.

“What?” She asked, clearly confused. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking past her at the empty cell. 

“That's what Cisco named Russell Glosson, a thief turned meta who could transfer any surrounding energy nearby into him, leaving his surroundings in a state of potential energy.” He slipped his hands into his pockets, turning his blue eyes toward her, the glow hidden beneath his contacts but not hiding the strange emotion bubbling beneath the surface. “The team encountered him while Zoom held Jesse captive. And Zoom... well, he wanted Barry's speed.” He looked away from her again, just staring into that still empty space. “Cisco figured out that Turtle's abilities might help us steal Zoom's speed. But I...” He grit his teeth momentarily, then reached up and pulled his glasses off, “I had to think about Jesse.” 

He let his hand fall, moving toward the cell, past her. “I would have done anything to save her. Anything. And that included murdering Turtle, to use his abilities in order to create a device to steal... Barry's speed for Zoom.” He was looking down at the floor of the cell as she slowly moved toward him. “I killed him right here. In this cell. Murdered him. To protect and save what I cherished most.” He looked at her as she reached his side. “So you saying I don't understand? Very, very stupid.” 

Maggie felt her mouth go dry as she studied Harry's face. Murdered? Harry... her Harry... murdered someone? That didn't seem possible. Couldn't be. And yet, she knew it was. Just because she knew most of what Zoom had put him through, what Zoom had done to Jesse. “Dad...” she blinked, not sure what to say, but he shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Maggie, I did the wrong thing... I thought for the right reasons. I admitted my sins to everyone, and they forgave me. Even Jesse. I didn't deserve it. Not then, not now. Because I was wrong. Regardless if Turtle was evil, regardless if Zoom was pulling my strings, regardless if it was to save someone I love... it doesn't matter. There is no excuse for taking a life. Because there is always, ALWAYS, another way.” He pushed, his tone as urgent for her to understand as his expression was. He let his hand fall. “Killing him is a regret I have to live with, every day of my life. It's an act I've never truly paid for. It didn't do anything but make things worse, and bring me down to Zoom's level. And I do not want that for you.” She felt her jaw drop a little and she looked past him into the cell.

“I... I mean, Pete...” she wasn't even sure what she was trying to say. It was like all intelligible language disappeared from her head, this new revelation about Harry having dumbfounded her... and the fact that he'd known what she was thinking about doing to Pete. 

“Pete is just another in a long line of assholes we have to deal with. But killing him? That won't fix things. It won't heal you. It won't save me.” He reached up and turned her head, smoothing his hand over her cheek. “I know that's all you want, to be free of him and the past you're haunted by. But if you kill him, like you want to do... then you'll never be free. And chances are, things will only turn out far worse than you hope.”

“I don't know how else to... to protect you.” Maggie finally found her voice and the right words, lifting her hand to curl around his wrist. She felt anger at her words, but pain at all of his. And he sighed, pulling her into him.

“It's not your job to protect me, Maggie. You're a kid.” He sighed into her hair and she closed her eyes as he hugged her protectively. “A tough, ridiculously smart, pain in the ass kid.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “But still... just a kid. And that's all you should be. That's all I want you to be. Let me worry about doing the stressing and protecting. You worry about school and being with your friends.” She lifted her head to look at him, then, pulling away a little. He stared down at her quietly. 

“Why?” She whispered, tears burning the edges of her eyes. “Why are you always taking care of me?” He smiled at that, warm and real.

“Isn't it obvious?” He pulled her back in for another hug. “You might be a pain in the ass. But you're my pain in the ass.” He rested his cheek against the top of her head. “My daughter.” It was the first time he'd ever called her that out loud, and though it was just a term, a trivial thing, it struck her right down to the core, yanking a sob from her throat as she buried her face into him and clung harder with her hands. “I love you, punk.” He added, and that was just the icing on the cake.

“I love you, too.” She managed in between tears. When she finally pulled away, wiping her face with a sheepish smile, he smoothed her wayward strands of red hair back.

“So... promise me... you won't do anything you'll regret. You'll learn from my mistakes, and not repeat them.” He urged, his eyes wet with unshed tears of his own. She nodded, eagerly even. Right then, he could have asked her to promise she'd jump to the moon, and she would have given it her best shot. Because no one had ever given so much of a damn for her in her entire life. And she was not about to let him down. “Good.” He kissed her forehead, then turned, letting his arm rest around her shoulders as he led her out of the pipeline and away from the ghost of Russell Glosson.

Harry was a killer, a murderer. And that should have scared her, made her angry. But it didn't, because she knew that was who he used to be, who he'd been forced into being, and that he was actively trying to protect her from becoming the same. She couldn't be angry at him for that. Couldn't be scared. In fact, she only loved him more for it. 

And as they wandered back into the lab, and she watched Harry and Cisco begin to bicker over the schematics of the device that Cisco had started drawing up, Harry practically rolling his eyes out of his head as Cisco strangled a pen near his face, she felt every murderous urge toward Pete disappear. 

If Pete really was responsible for all this, then she would let him come. She wouldn't have to kill him to stop him. Because she had a much better idea than that now... she should have just listened to Harry and Cisco earlier. 

They'd stop Pete, but together. As a team. As a family. No killing necessary. And when all was said and done, she'd still have it all. A fast tracked college career, a team of incredible people to fall back on, one whacky cat and two unique Dads who loved her. It just didn't get better than that...

* * *

“Ungh....” Cisco whined into Harry's back, his face practically smushed in between Harry's shoulderblades. “Dude, we've been at this aaaalllll daaaaay. It's after midnight.” Harry found himself smiling a little, pausing with the familiar white marker in his hand at the plexi board. “Sleep. _Must have._ Me needs. _Now._ ” Cisco urged, reaching up with both hands and gripping Harry's hips, shaking him back and forth slightly. Harry lowered the marker, taking in a slow breath and letting it out as he turned, eyes roaming the room. Maggie was on the floor, head on her backpack, completely asleep. Everyone else had cleared out hours ago. 

There was still no sign of Pete, and the electronic wave dilation device they were working on to subdue Pete's meta abilities was turning out to be a bit trickier than they'd initially thought. A brilliant idea, actually. Brought on by Maggie's own unique abilities and Harry's interactions with her earlier. Once they had the basics, he and Cisco had run with it. But trying to get a continuous controlled burst on the same frequency as Pete's jumps was turning out to be tricky. He let his eyes move to Cisco's practically pouting expression and he sighed. “Alright.” He replied, capping the marker and setting it down. Cisco made a soft 'yes' sound and fist pumped once before spinning on his heel and moving to wake Maggie up for the drive home. She woke with a stretch and a fair amount of blinking as she got to her feet, hugging her bag to herself with a yawn. 

Once outside, he and Cisco worked on clearing the car off. The snow had been steady most of the day, and though Barry had cleared off the car for them when he'd left, they still had a good inch or so to clear off again. The wet stuff, too. Maggie watched in silence, every now and then peering around as though she were waiting for something to pop out of nowhere... or someone. 

When Harry finally opened the door for her, she seemed to relax, her shoulders slumping lazily as she sloshed her feet through the wet snow toward the backseat, practically flopping in and collapsing lazily. “Seatbelt.” He ordered before closing the door. She frowned at him, rolling her eyes a little, but obliged. Harry then stopped by the driver's door and motioned to Cisco to toss him the keys. “I'll drive.” Cisco pulled a glove off and pulled the keys out of his pocket, then went to toss them in Harry's general direction. But paused, raising a brow.

“What's that?” He asked quizzically, motioning with keys in hand then just past Harry, who raised a brow of his own and turned to see whatever it was Cisco had his eyes on in the snowy dark. “Is that a plow?” He asked, moving around the front of the car to stop next to him. 

Ramon was right. It looked like one of the city plows, the large kind with the dump truck back filled with sand, lights flashing and barrelling through the wide, very empty and snow filled parking lot of S.T.A.R. Labs. Still a way off, it was confusing to see. Considering the city plows never came here. Ever. They had to plow it themselves. It took Harry a moment of staring at it to realize that wasn't the only thing odd about it. In fact, it was picking up speed. And headed straight for them. “Drive, drive now!” Harry said, turning and practically pushing Cisco toward the car. Ramon must have gotten the same picture because his eyes were wide and he yanked the door open, suddenly very not tired as he launched himself into the driver's seat the same moment Harry slid over the hood to the passenger's side.

“What's wrong?!” Maggie asked from the back seat, worry lacing her tone as Harry slammed the door shut behind him and Cisco attempted to start the car. 

But of course, the engine wouldn't turn. It stuttered, and fought to start. But wouldn't go beyond that. “Oh come on!” Cisco blurted, smacking a hand onto the console. “START!” He yelled at the windshield and turned the key again, the engine stuttering more.

“Ramon...” Harry said through gritted teeth, peering past him at the steadily approaching lights.

“I know, Harry!” He groused.

“It's getting closer...” he stated the obvious.

“Not helping!” Ramon blurted, jamming the key back to start again. But nothing, just a strange ticking sound that made it seem as though the battery were depleted, which made absolutely no sense. 

“Never mind, get out! Out now!” Harry ordered, well aware that if they couldn't move the car, sitting in it was a really stupid idea. No one argued with him, they all moved. But it only took Harry and Cisco a moment to realize that Maggie hadn't exited with them. Harry opened the passenger door and bent over, “Come on!” He said, motioning to her. But she was yanking at the seatbelt.

“It won't unbuckle!” She sounded panicked, pressing hard on the button, yanking on the seatbelt. Cisco opened the other door.

“You and this stupid car!” Harry yelled at Ramon, reaching in to try to yank the buckle open. Cisco pushed his hands aside. 

“She's not a stupid car, she's just got needs!” Cisco countered, and let out a controlled vibe at the buckle, popping it open, the seatbelt sliding away. Harry bit down his retort, grabbed Maggie and pulled her from the car. And then they all dodged out of the way at the very last moment. 

The sound of a loud engine and crushing metal was intense as the city plow barrelled right into Cisco's car. The much smaller vehicle didn't stand a chance, crunching and turning till it began to roll onto its side, glass shattering and a tire popping, till the plow finally stopped.

They all watched the whole scene unfold from the snowy parking lot, pushing themselves up from where they'd fallen. “My... my car!” Ramon suddenly blurted, getting up and taking a step forward, both hands going to his hair in shock. Harry stood just after, looking down at Maggie, who was just wide eyed and quiet, shivering... though he wasn't sure if it was because of the cold or fear. “Who the hell do you think you are?!” Ramon yelled, moving toward the plow, then, grabbing Harry's full attention.

“Ramon!” He called after him, moving quickly, catching up just as Cisco stepped up onto the sidebar and yanked the passenger door of the plow truck open to reveal... a completely empty cab. 

No one was inside. 

The engine was still running and the keys were swinging in the ignition. 

But no one was at the wheel. 

“What the hell?” Ramon asked softly, glancing back at Harry. 

What the hell was right...

* * *

“Now do you believe me?!” Maggie demanded, standing cross-armed in front of everyone. “Only Pete could have popped in and out like that and you know it.” She said firmly, feeling strangely vindicated, albeit a little guilty. She hated that Cisco's car had to get totalled to prove her point. And yeah, she'd almost just gotten pancaked. And crunched. And whatever word seemed to fit. But she was right. She was fricken right.

“Actually,” Joe said, stepping into view with a file in hand, looking as tired as everyone else in the room, his tie halfway undone, a pair of gloves held in his free hand, “It wasn't Pete.” He said, and he sounded almost apologetic about it.

“Come again?” Harry asked, sitting up a little straighter in the chair he'd claimed up against a wall, pulling his booted feet closer to him. Cisco was sitting on the floor near him, still pouting about his car, but raised a brow.

“Yeah, what?” Ramon asked, watching as Joe moved in more and grabbed a free rolling chair, sitting in it tiredly before waving the folder in his hand a little. 

“Peter Malek... has been dead for four weeks.” He sighed lightly, meeting Maggie's suddenly intense and stunned gaze unflinchingly. “He was listed as a John Doe in the county morgue. All this searching kicked over some rocks and matched his fingerprints after the fact. Would have been done sooner, but some idiot lost the paperwork.” He stretched his arm out, holding the folder for her to take. “I'm sorry Maggie. He died of an overdose. Whatever's happening now... it's not him.”

Maggie just blinked, arms dropping as she stared at the folder in his hand. Dead? Pete was dead? “That's not...” she whispered, taking a step forward and closing her fingers around the folder. Slowly she opened it. The proof was right there in black and white lettering, and in detailed photographs of a very pale, very dead Pete. “I... I was so sure...”

She felt sick. Bile began to boil in her stomach, threatening its way up her throat as though her body couldn't handle the sudden hurricane of strange emotions that were currently surging through her. And she dropped the folder, turning and running toward the medlab and the nearest sink, which thankfully was industrial sized. She didn't have much to puke, but it came up against her will. Hot and acidic, making her stomach feel crampy and her chest feel tight. Caitlin was the angel of the moment, her cool and gentle hands appearing out of nowhere as she gathered up Maggie's hair and whispered to her that she was going to be okay. 

When the puking finally subsided, Caitlin handed her a towel and a cup of water to rinse her mouth out, guiding her to the gurney after. “Sorry.” Maggie said sheepishly, hugging herself a little as she settled to sit on the side of the medical bed. “Don't know why that happened.” Caitlin smiled warmly at her, coming over with a fresh washcloth and running it over Maggie's face ever so gently. 

“Shock will have all kinds of effects on the body.” She explained easily, “Nothing for you to be sorry about.” Maggie watched her then shook her head a little as Caitlin set the washcloth aside. 

“I wanted him dead, ya know...” she found herself saying, then looked down at her clasped hands in her lap. “I mean, I thought I did. I thought it would be easier that way. Better for everyone. Safer.” She felt tears then, roll down her cheeks and she furrowed her brows. “God, why am I crying?!” She blurted, reaching up and angrily wiping at her face. Caitlin moved quietly, then, sitting down beside her and placing a warm hand on Maggie's knee.

“Mags, listen to me.” She said, squeezing her knee a little and pulling Maggie's attention toward her, “There isn't anything wrong with crying. This whole situation is intense, especially for someone your age.” She reached up and curled some of Maggie's hair around her ear. “You're not expected to just handle it, ya know.”

“Everyone else does, though. I mean,” She sighed, looking away again. “All of you, you don't even blink. Bad stuff happens and you just roll with it. When that plow truck was coming at us, Harry and Cisco... they were bickering like they always do... like it was completely normal. I should be able to just be okay with all this, too. Right? If I'm going to be a part of the team and help people, I have to be as strong as you guys.” She wiped at another wayward tear, though much softer this time. Caitlin snaked an arm around Maggie's back.

“It affects us, all of us, too. We might be a little better at hiding it, or pushing it aside till we can better deal with it. But we feel the pain, the sadness, anger, even depression. All of it. You name it, and we go through it just like anyone else.” Caitlin explained, motioning her head toward the Cortex as she peered out at the team, who were in a circle, talking. Probably about what the next step would be. “What makes a difference?” Caitlin smiled softly, “It's that we don't do it alone.” She squeezed Maggie's opposite shoulder, hugging her into her frame. 

Maggie just settled into her side, watching the others in the Cortex quietly. “I still can't believe Ronda got accordianed...” she heard Cisco say, then watched Harry practically drag his hands over his own face before glaring at Cisco.

“Enough about the stupid car, Ramon!” He growled, and Cisco crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Ronda was not a stupid car!” He countered.

“The fact that you named that bucket of rust Ronda? Proves my point for me.” He motioned to Cisco who scowled and then elbowed Harry in the ribs as Barry chuckled.

“I am so not making you breakfast tomorrow!” He asserted to Harry before tiredly faceplanting into Harry's chest. Harry sighed momentarily, and just rested a hand lazily on Cisco's back.

Maggie couldn't help but smile a little. 

“What happens now?” She found herself asking, and Caitlin looked at her.

“Now? We all sleep. We need it. It's been a long day, and we're in for another tomorrow, I think.” She replied, slipping off the gurney.

“No, I mean... if it's not Pete... how do we figure out who it is?” Maggie asked, following suit. Caitlin stepped out of the medlab, glancing over her shoulder. It was Barry who answered.

“There were no prints. The plow cab was clean. So that's going to be a dead end. The pictures are no help, either. It was photo paper you could buy at any office supply chain, and used in any home printer.” Barry leaned his rear against the table behind him, pressing his palms flat to either side of himself. 

“I hate to say it, but... we've got no leads. No real evidence of anything beyond some really serious mischief and stalking. Until something else happens, we're just going to have to be vigilant.” Joe said, sliding a hand into his pocket. “Be extra careful, look out for each other, and don't go anywhere alone.” he said, motioning to both Cisco and Harry, who both looked at him with quiet expressions Maggie couldn't quite decipher.

“What about me?” She asked softly, not quite wanting to make it sound like it should be about her right now. But... well... 

“School.” Harry said instantly, looking her with that don't-even-bother-arguing look of his. “Friends. Life as usual.”

“You're kidding, right?” Maggie asked, unable to help the dubious tone in her voice. Because... seriously?!

“Do I sound like I'm kidding?” Harry countered. But Cisco cleared his throat, and stepped in front of the taller man, reaching out and putting a hand on Maggie's shoulder with a light smile.

“It's not Pete. We know that now. So life for you goes back to normal... or as normal as it can be for a kid who can light a Christmas tree up by sneezing.” He smirked a little and winked. She smiled at him, unable to keep herself from letting it form. 

And that was that.

An hour later, they were back at the apartment. She was in her bed, staring up at the collage of constellations she'd painstakingly painted on her ceiling in glow in the dark paint. She could hear Harry and Cisco still talking out in the kitchen, but the murmur of it was soft and comforting. 

Back to normal. 

Those words kept repeating in her head. Because what was normal? Normal before was adjusting to this new, amazing, crazy and wonderful life with the threat of her past looming over her head. But that threat was gone now. And for some reason, it ached to think of it that way. When she thought of Pete dead, her throat would tighten. She should have hated him. Should have been glad that he was gone. For all he'd done to her and put her through, he deserved it, right? But she wasn't happy about it. She was just sad in a way she couldn't understand. Just another thing to adjust to. 

Like this new threat.

Only it wasn't hanging over her head. It was hanging over Harry and Cisco's, her Dads. Was that what they were discussing out there in the kitchen? Were they worrying over each others' safety? Was Cisco fretting over the fact that Harry had been directly threatened in those photos? Was Harry angry that some of the people he loved had been nearly crushed? How did they deal with all of this so often without completely falling apart or wanting to run away?

All those questions were what eventually lulled her to sleep, long after Harry and Cisco had gotten quiet, and the glowing constellations of Casseopia and Gemini continued their silent vigil over her, promising that for now they were all safe... at least for tonight.

* * *

_Hidden eyes beneath a hooded jacket watched from the empty snow covered street as the last of the Christmas lights in the apartment windows finally went dark. A sure sign that Ramon and Wells had finally gone to bed, close to three in the morning. Hands flexed instinctively, jealousy boiling, burning like hot coals, demanding to be felt. Because it shouldn't be Wells curling up to Ramon, holding him, breathing in the smell of his dark hair, feeling the curve of his form, sleeping comfortably body to body. It should be..._

_The thought was pushed down as the flashing lights of a plow truck came into view, the tremble of the engine rumbling past as the figure stepped out of the street lamp light, the truck growling by as it littered salt behind it on the slushy road._

_Patience. That was a skill like any other. A skill learned during rehabilitation. And one that would serve well in the days to come._

_A smile played quietly on chilled lips as the figure slipped cold hands into jacket pockets, stepping out into the street and across to the opposite sidewalk, whispering the quote from Aristotle that had become like a mantra,_ “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet...”

_And the figure disappeared into the quiet dark, just as snow began to fall..._

**Author's Note:**

> (To be continued...)


End file.
